With a residential leasehold property in West Kensington, you are actually buying an entitlement to live in a property for a set period of time. Modern flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners become complacent as this seems like a long period of time, you may think about extending the lease sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease gets disproportionately more expensive notably when there are fewer than 80 years left. Residents in West Kensington with a lease approaching 81 years unexpired should seriously consider extending it as soon as possible. When the lease term has under 80 years remaining, under the relevant statute the freeholder is entitled to calculate and charge a larger premium, assessed on a technical multiplication, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.
Leasehold properties in West Kensington with over one hundred years outstanding on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such circumstances there is often little to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barnsley Building Society | 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
| Yorkshire Building Society | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage. Please ensure that you explain the implications of a short term lease to the borrower. |
Engaging our service gives you better control over the value of your West Kensington leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in terms of lease length should you wish to sell. The conveyancers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Joseph was the the leasehold owner of a studio apartment in West Kensington on the market with a lease of a few days over sixty years left. Joseph informally spoke with his landlord being a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years subject to an increased rent to £50 per annum. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Joseph to invoke his statutory right. Joseph obtained expert legal guidance and secured an acceptable deal without resorting to tribunal and sell the property.
In 2009 we were contacted by Mrs Alice Ali who, having completed a basement apartment in West Kensington in October 2011. We are asked if we could approximate the premium would likely be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparable homes in West Kensington with a long lease were in the region of £250,400. The average amount of ground rent was £65 collected monthly. The lease finished in 2090. Considering the 64 years as a residual term we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £19,000 and £22,000 exclusive of costs.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a West Kensington property is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 37.79 years.